WT/MIN(2 2)/ST/21 
12 June 2022 
(22-4457) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12-15 June  2022  Original:  French  
 
  
STATEMENT BY  H.E. DR AMADEU LEIT ÃO NUNES  
STATE SECRETARY FOR TRADE  
ANGOLA  
On behalf of the Government of Angola, I wish to thank you for inviting me to this event, the 
Twelfth  Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC12), which aims to present and 
clarify issues that will have a relevant impact on the multilateral functioning of international trade.  
Allow me also to express my sincere thanks to the WTO and  to the Government of Kazakhstan for 
co-hosting this Ministerial Conference, and to say that we recognize that this event  ultimately 
provides participants with a perfect  opportunity to influence  issues related to the sustainable 
economic development of Member countries.  
The Republic of Angola has been a Member of the World Trade Organization since 1996, and recalls 
the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO . 
We reaffirm our commitment to the developmental mandates and issues adopted at the Doha 
Ministerial Conference in 2001, and at the subsequen t Ministerial Conferences . 
We re affirm  that the WTO must be inclusive, transparent and based on impartial rules, and must 
always seek to accommodate the heterogeneity of its Membership in the implementation of existing 
trade agreements and the negotiation of new agreements , and to single out the differential 
treatment of developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) as an integral part of the 
current and future WTO Agreements.  
The COVID -19 pandemic has had devastating effects in developing count ries, in particular LDCs.   
Consequently, we express our major concern about the long -term impact of the COVID -19 pandemic 
on public health and the trad e economy of our Member States, including the lack of equitable and 
fair access to vaccines, diagnostics , medical treatments and supplies to prevent, contain and treat 
the viru s. 
We underscore the need for the WTO to ensure that its rules enable and support LDCs and developing 
countries to pursue policies aimed at achieving  the industrialization, structural transformation, 
diversification a nd resilience of their economies in order to improve the living standards of their 
populations, promote full employment, help  mitigate  the impact of climate change, recover from the 
pandemic, and thus help Members build back better . 
Angola fully supports the statements by the G33, and we invite Members at  this Ministerial 
Conference to review the proposed waiver  of certain provi sions of the TRIPS Agreement that have  
an immediate and direct impact on COVID -19 diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, medical devices 
and personal protective equipment . We hope that this proposal will become an important element 
of our Ministerial Confere nce. 
We also reiterate the continuing need to establish sustainable financial, technical and capacity -
building assistance programmes  to help WTO Members implement their agreements, manage their 
trade policy reform  processes , and benefit from the opportunities offered on the international WT/MIN(2 2)/ST/21  
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  market, thus facilitating their strategic integration into the global economy to enhance their grow th 
and development.  
We note the importance of taking positive measures at the WTO in favour of graduating LDCs , in 
order to overcome post -graduation challenges and , at the same time,  ensure a sustainable 
transition. We fully support the extension of the pr ovisions on special and differential treatments 
and other flexibilities for a period of 12 years  for all countries graduating from the LDC category . 
The success of this MC12 is tied to  the commitment and willingness of all Members to change the 
current fra mework with a view to reaching decisions on each of the topics negotiated in favour of 
the multilateral trading system.  
We consider it a matter of urgen cy to achieve consensus on fisheries subsidies and to conclude a 
multilateral agreement that takes  into account special and differential treatment in favour of LDCs. 
The fisheries sector in Angola is of great importance, as it promotes balanced and sustainab le 
development  at the national level, contributing to national cohesion and unity, job creation, 
improved quality of life for Angolans, efforts to combat  hunger and poverty, food and nutritional 
security, and the competitive  integration of the country in the regional and international context, 
through the regulation and coordination of public and private activity in the sector.  
For the Angolan Government, reach ing a global and consensual agreement to ban subsidies that 
threaten the sustainability of fisheries and the conservation of marine resources  is a matter of 
urgency .  
In September  2015, our countries signed the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SD Gs) 
and agreed, at the Eleventh Ministerial Conference (MC11) , that there was an urgent need to reach 
a final, fair and constructive agreement, as this process is an intrinsic part of SDG 14.6, which we 
must honour.  
Regarding the other topics, each with th eir own importance, we encourage Members to make every 
effort to attain th at Goal, as this step will make a positive contribution to fair world trade as a 
relevant factor for social and economic development.  
We support the proposals put forward by the G90 at the General Council for consideration during 
MC12, and urge Members to make a positive commitment to finding pragmatic solutions to this 
unresolved issue that has been on the WTO's agenda for over 20 years . 
We reaffirm the importance of special and diff erential treatment for LDCs to be able to  achieve 
structural economic transformation and make the most of international trade.  
Allow me to conclude my speech by urging Members to maintain an open and flexible dialogue on 
the issues addressed during this C onference.  
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